Hayek grounded freedom in the inevitability of ignorance

Evidence

Hayek is noteworthy in that he placed ignorance at the very center of his political theory: “the case for individual freedom rests chiefly on the recognition of the inevitable ignorance of us all.” Most commentators tend to interpret this as an appeal to ignorance as some kind of primal state of mankind; but I think they need to expand their horizons. The distinction begins to bite when we take note that Hayek harbored a relatively low opinion of the role of education and discussion in the process of learning, and notoriously, an even lower opinion of the powers of ratiocination of those he disparaged as “the intellectuals.” These, of course, were the mirror image of his belief in the market as a superior information processor: Nor is the process of forming majority opinion entirely, or even chiefly, a matter of discussion, as the overintellectualized conception would have it . — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 221

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains Hayek’s ignorance-centered argument for freedom, a key concept in NTC doctrine.
• XREF: connects to: Hayek’s critique targets epistemic arrogance, not state action per se — Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous…, 255; Hayek grounded free-market economics in a theory of human ignorance — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 278; Hayek located rationality in impersonal market processes, not individuals — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 223 (+15 more)

Broader Connections

• Hayek’s market argument rests on an epistemology of dispersed tacit knowledge #expands (0.88) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 72
• Hayek justified markets by dispersed knowledge, not happiness maximization #qualifies (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 2195
• Hayek opposed planning because humans face constitutional ignorance #expands (0.85)
• Hayek framed individual rational self-direction as dangerous civilizational hubris #corroborates (0.82) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 227
• Hayek modeled economic order on rules operating without being known #corroborates (0.78) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 172
• Freedom requires awareness of options, not just their existence #complicates (0.75) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 422